[applause] >> thank you, steve. i would like to thank the secretary for his kind comments and i think it's important to note in addition to our united states senators, we are joined by the entire colorado delegation. our members of congress, diana degette, jared polis, cory gardner and congressman perlmutter. thank you all for being here as well. i had the great privilege to be with our former senator in the shadow of the rocky mountains where this tree once stood and we now have the high privilege of standing in the shadow of the capitol of the united states of america to be able to celebrate this season. when we went to carve that tree, we were joined there by members of the ute tribes. they are inherent to our area. the people of the ute tribes, they have a word that things are good -- to make sure that all is good. native american culture, it's about wind, about the sky, the land, and water. comes. this tree, which will represent the spirit of the state of colorado and indeed our nation speaks also to the import